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Square Kilometre Array Science

Square Kilometre Array Science. Stephen Fine SKA Fellow University of the Western Cape. SKA Science goals. Cosmology + Galaxy evolution Testing general relativity: gravity waves Magnetic fields in the Universe Exoplanets and SETI The first light in the Universe…….EVER?.

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Square Kilometre Array Science

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  1. Square Kilometre ArrayScience Stephen Fine SKA Fellow University of the Western Cape

  2. SKA Science goals • Cosmology + Galaxy evolution • Testing general relativity: gravity waves • Magnetic fields in the Universe • Exoplanets and SETI • The first light in the Universe…….EVER?

  3. Cosmology + Galaxy evolution `If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the Universe.’ `You have to know the past to understand the present.’ Carl Sagan (1935-1996)

  4. Telescopes as time machines Speed of light: 299,792 km/s You see this slide ~ 0.00000003 seconds (30 nanoseconds) in the past. Astronomers like distances measured in lightyears 1 ly = 9,460,000,000,000 km

  5. Telescopes as time machines Proximacentauri 4.24 ly

  6. Telescopes as time machines Proximacentauri 4.24 ly

  7. Telescopes as time machines Eta Carina 7500-8000 ly

  8. Telescopes as time machines Andromeda galaxy 2.2 Mly

  9. Cosmic timeline Earth Distance = 0 ly Age = 13.7 billion years Big Bang Distance = 13.7 billion ly Age = 0 Between here is the whole history of cosmic evolution

  10. Back to galaxy evolution In the nearby Universe we have a fairly good understanding of the demographics of galaxies. 0.4 billion years

  11. Galaxy evolution Stepping out we have optical surveys that can find large numbers of galaxies when the universe was ~4/5th its current age. 2.5 billion years

  12. Galaxy evolution With the largest telescopes we can find massive galaxies when the Universe was ~1/10th its current age. 12.7 billion years 1 billion years after BB

  13. Galaxy evolution We know that galaxies had not started forming until at least 0.2 billion years after the Big Bang. 13.5 billion years 0.2 billion years after BB

  14. The state of the art Some massive galaxies formed Limit of current galaxy mass surveys Limit of current large galaxy surveys No galaxies

  15. Enter the SKA Some massive galaxies formed Limit of current galaxy mass surveys Limit of current large galaxy surveys No galaxies Will detect `typical’ Milky Way type objects as they are first forming A mass survey over half the observable Universe

  16. Enter the SKA Some massive galaxies formed Limit of current galaxy mass surveys Limit of current large galaxy surveys No galaxies Will detect `typical’ Milky Way type objects as they are first forming A mass survey over half the observable Universe

  17. SETI with the SKA

  18. Project Cyclops

  19. Project Cyclops Remind you of anything?

  20. Some estimates for SKA SETI Terrestrial TV/radio • Could be observed from ~75 ly • ~2500 stars in that volume • ~250 are sun like. • (Most others too faint)

  21. Some estimates for SKA SETI Radar (especially military) • Could be observed from a few hundred ly • ~10000 stars in that volume • ~1000 are sun like.

  22. Final comments

  23. Final comments

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